I've known Boris for years. He's worked at many of the same companies as I have as well as competitors over the years. You'll recognize some of his early work in marketing as the inventor of the phrase, "quickly and easily." We drifted apart as I've turned my focus to eliminating MABUSHI and talking about who cares and why. I've been busy with my day job so I've asked him to sit in for me and give his impressions of the quality of marketing he observed at the recent RSA security conference in San Francisco. Take it away, Boris.
Thanks, Tim, for the opportunity to appear and to finally give voice to my disagreement with your views. You focus too much on value (whatever that is?) and not enough on creating energy and excitement around cool new features. In my more than 20 years in the business it's been features, features, features and features still reign today as what gets my blood pumping. Without features, what would we talk about?
Features are what's cool. If you want proof, just spend 30 minutes walking the show floor at RSA. It was envigorating to be amongst all those leading providers of security stuff. The leading provider of SIEM was next to the leading provider of network security. Right across the aisle was the leading provider of web security next to the leading provider of comprehensive on-demand threat management and vulnerability assessment solutions. Then there was the leading provider of unique and powerful solutions for IT audit and security. Next to them was another leading provider of SIEM and behind them was the cool booth for the other leading provider of web security. Not really sure what any of it meant but it all sounded SO COOL and they had nifty giveaways.
RSA must be the premier security show to be able to attract all those leading providers of stuff. And this has got to be the greatest industry in the world to be able to have more than one leading provider for each of those security categories.
And everywhere you looked there were next generation security, um, stuff. I mean, if it's not next generation, who wants to know? No one wants to secure their business with current generation or, God forbid, last generation technology. Buyers want to know they've got the latest and greatest, coolest features. If that weren't true, how come so many vendors there plastered their booths with these phrases? Right? CIOs must love buying next generation products for everyone to be saying they are next generation.
To keep all the leading providers and next generation stuff straight, I had to take home all their brochures just to figure out exactly what they did and if I should care. And like a good citizen I duly recycled all 37 pounds of data sheets I collected. Don't want that stuff cluttering up my office, you know. I did get some fun giveaways for your boys, though. I hope they liked them, especially that bouncing cup thingy that I got from the leading provider of integrated user authentication and verification solution suites - or maybe it was from the world's leading provider of network access control (NAC) and policy compliance solutions.
No, Tim, this value stuff you keep touting is boring and overrated. As the president of the enterprise sales division of a leading provider of search and online advertising said at their sales kick-off a few years back, "Don't bother with that solution selling crap. We've got great products. Go out and sell great products."
Uh, thanks Boris for that wonderful insight. I might ask you to come back soon to give us your, um, views on other topics.
Next up: Where did those 4 $%#^#%# About Us slides at the beginning of everyone's decks come from?
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Two Sure Ways for B2B Marketers to Blow the First Date
As promised, today's post is a guest blog by Josh Duncan. Josh leads Product Marketing and Social Media efforts at Zenoss, an enterprise software startup. You can find Josh writing online at the Random Jog blog or on Twitter @Joshua_d. Josh is a fellow crusader in the battle to rid the world of MABUSHI.
Image link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/475656604/sizes/s/
I am trying to read Simon Sinek’s latest book, Start with the Why, but haven’t been making much progress. Whenever I sit down to spend some time with it, I only make it a few page before I inevitably run into something that I need to write down and think about.
For example, on the subject of building trust with you customer Simon writes,
One sure fire way to not get a “second date” is to over-position the product. It’s when marketing wants to please everyone and tries to cover every angle with the product positioning. What usually happens is that the product promises to do more than it’s capable of delivering. If it sounds too good to be true, people assume that it is. Additionally, the last thing you want to do is raise your customer’s expectations only to crush them into pieces when the product fails to live up to the hype.
Another mistake is trying to position your product in a hot category when clearly it is not. Look no further than Microsoft’s “To the Cloud” commercials for a perfect example.
It’s not really clear what product they are talking about here but it’s definitely not Cloud Computing.
Were they hoping that by sticking Cloud in the positioning people would assume the product is new and cool?
So how do you reach your customers without over-promising and over-hyping? It’s about finding out what they value and their pain points and engaging with them at a level that shows you get their challenges. Most importantly, you have to realize that buliding trust is a process and it takes time.
Trying to shortcut the process will leave you dateless, sitting at home alone, waiting for the phone to ring.
Next up: Another guest Blogger giving tips on slide presentations.
Image link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/475656604/sizes/s/
I am trying to read Simon Sinek’s latest book, Start with the Why, but haven’t been making much progress. Whenever I sit down to spend some time with it, I only make it a few page before I inevitably run into something that I need to write down and think about.
For example, on the subject of building trust with you customer Simon writes,
Like on a date, it is exceedingly difficult to start building a relationship withB2B marketers must find a way to get the attention of the customer to get in the door but that’s just the start. There’re usually multiple stakeholders and influencers that have different goals and agendas that must be addressed before the final sale.
a potential customer or client by trying to convince them of all the rational
features and benefits. Those are important, but they server only to give
credibility to a sales pitch and allow buyers to rationalize their purchase
decision.
One sure fire way to not get a “second date” is to over-position the product. It’s when marketing wants to please everyone and tries to cover every angle with the product positioning. What usually happens is that the product promises to do more than it’s capable of delivering. If it sounds too good to be true, people assume that it is. Additionally, the last thing you want to do is raise your customer’s expectations only to crush them into pieces when the product fails to live up to the hype.
Another mistake is trying to position your product in a hot category when clearly it is not. Look no further than Microsoft’s “To the Cloud” commercials for a perfect example.
Were they hoping that by sticking Cloud in the positioning people would assume the product is new and cool?
So how do you reach your customers without over-promising and over-hyping? It’s about finding out what they value and their pain points and engaging with them at a level that shows you get their challenges. Most importantly, you have to realize that buliding trust is a process and it takes time.
Trying to shortcut the process will leave you dateless, sitting at home alone, waiting for the phone to ring.
Next up: Another guest Blogger giving tips on slide presentations.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
What To Do While You Build the Marketing Plan
Okay, this may sound like a rant or a whine but I'M NOT THE LEAD GEN GUY!
I just started a new gig and am in the process of building a complete marketing infrastructure for the company: soup, nuts and everything in between. I know he's not being derogatory but the Sales Director introduced me to a few people by saying that I'm responsible for "generating leads and helping us with the messaging."
I could respond by saying, "I'm really the pick the segments, determine the key points of value, figure out how we compete, identify and develop the personas, build the partner strategy, quantify the lead and sales process, write all the collateral, create and execute the campaigns and track the results guy." But he probably wouldn't listen anyway.
Yes, all that stuff has to be done BEFORE you can create and execute any lead generation campaigns that have any value. I'm too new to the company and space to know who the buyers are, where they go for new information, what resonates with them, etc. so it would be a supreme waste of my nice new CEO's money to try to do any lead generation campaigns now.
Silly True Story to Illustrate My Point (I'm not making this up): A company I know recently bought two lists of names, 20,000 in all, of people who read an industry rag that covered its technology. They blasted out an email to all these people who had never heard of them and got exactly 3 leads. Not to be outdone, they followed it up with another email to the same database six weeks later and got exactly ZERO leads. And this is a 20 year old company! A 20 year old company who doesn't understand their buyers or market.
However, the sales team, my nice new CEO and the Board wouldn't tolerate that kind of performance nor are they in a position to wait until I have the marketing plan completed before they expect results.
What to do in the meantime? I could Make Stuff Up (MSU) but that usually results in MABUSHI and a quick ticket to the unemployment line. I could run screaming for the hills but that wouldn't impress SWMBO.
Instead I spent the afternoon with the sales team and my nice new CEO and we drilled into everything we already knew about our existing customers (though few), what worked, what we did, where they are in the company, etc. The result was a moderately focused customer segment, four proven titles to call on in those target companies and a workable (though incomplete) persona for one of those titles.
It's not efficient but it's not wrong, either. Our sales team has a focus for the next 60 days while I flesh out the personas, refine the messaging, create some resonant content and all the rest of that "lead gen" stuff.
Key Take Away: You have assets even if you don't know what they are. Find them and use them while you build out your plan.
Next up: My first guest blogger.
I just started a new gig and am in the process of building a complete marketing infrastructure for the company: soup, nuts and everything in between. I know he's not being derogatory but the Sales Director introduced me to a few people by saying that I'm responsible for "generating leads and helping us with the messaging."
I could respond by saying, "I'm really the pick the segments, determine the key points of value, figure out how we compete, identify and develop the personas, build the partner strategy, quantify the lead and sales process, write all the collateral, create and execute the campaigns and track the results guy." But he probably wouldn't listen anyway.
Yes, all that stuff has to be done BEFORE you can create and execute any lead generation campaigns that have any value. I'm too new to the company and space to know who the buyers are, where they go for new information, what resonates with them, etc. so it would be a supreme waste of my nice new CEO's money to try to do any lead generation campaigns now.
Silly True Story to Illustrate My Point (I'm not making this up): A company I know recently bought two lists of names, 20,000 in all, of people who read an industry rag that covered its technology. They blasted out an email to all these people who had never heard of them and got exactly 3 leads. Not to be outdone, they followed it up with another email to the same database six weeks later and got exactly ZERO leads. And this is a 20 year old company! A 20 year old company who doesn't understand their buyers or market.
However, the sales team, my nice new CEO and the Board wouldn't tolerate that kind of performance nor are they in a position to wait until I have the marketing plan completed before they expect results.
What to do in the meantime? I could Make Stuff Up (MSU) but that usually results in MABUSHI and a quick ticket to the unemployment line. I could run screaming for the hills but that wouldn't impress SWMBO.
Instead I spent the afternoon with the sales team and my nice new CEO and we drilled into everything we already knew about our existing customers (though few), what worked, what we did, where they are in the company, etc. The result was a moderately focused customer segment, four proven titles to call on in those target companies and a workable (though incomplete) persona for one of those titles.
It's not efficient but it's not wrong, either. Our sales team has a focus for the next 60 days while I flesh out the personas, refine the messaging, create some resonant content and all the rest of that "lead gen" stuff.
Key Take Away: You have assets even if you don't know what they are. Find them and use them while you build out your plan.
Next up: My first guest blogger.
Friday, January 21, 2011
FUD Gone Wrong
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) has always smacked of desperation on the part of the perpetrator, usually when a deal is peceived lost. I'll cop to having used FUD as a tactic to at least delay deals or continue conversations in the past. Responding directly to it, though, sounds even more desperate to the prospect. Most reps I've heard in this situation sound like they're whining when they try to apologize out of it.
However, this HAS to be the first time I've ever seen a response on this scale of silliness.
Yes, this is McAfee headquarters in Santa Clara, just off US 101 at Great America Parkway. Starbucks card to Larry for being first to identify the company.
According to a friend that works there, apparently Symantec is throwing a lot of FUD around in the market because of Intel's acquisition of McAfee. "They're going to be subsumed by Intel. It's a total disruption, no one knows what they are doing. Do you want to risk your security on a company with an uncertain future." And more MABUSHI like that. These are weak comments and shame on Symantec for trying this. Certainly they could do better.
But shame on McAfee for responding this way. It makes them look silly and detracts from the really tight message they have: Securing Your Digital World(TM).
A good repsonse would be no response. A better response is to call it what it is: MABUSHI! - or whatever invective the situation calls for.
Here's an example of how to respond:
Prospect: "Symantec says, "Scary thing 1, scary thing 2 and scary thing 3."
McAfee rep: "Hogwash. McAfee is still the leader in (supportable statistic 1). Our <product> is still the (supportable statistic 2). Plus, (reputable analyst or publication) said that McAfee (product) was better than Symantec. Now let's get back to the problem you're trying to solve."
McAfee's painting the side of their building has just two small benefits: some of their employees get a chuckle out of it when they come to work (more, I suspect, are embarrassed by it) and some painting contractors got a nice little extra job at the end of their busy season last Fall.
Key takeaway: FUD, and apologetic responses to it, is just more MABUSHI. Don't fall for it.
Next up: I'm NOT the lead gen guy!
However, this HAS to be the first time I've ever seen a response on this scale of silliness.
Yes, this is McAfee headquarters in Santa Clara, just off US 101 at Great America Parkway. Starbucks card to Larry for being first to identify the company.
But shame on McAfee for responding this way. It makes them look silly and detracts from the really tight message they have: Securing Your Digital World(TM).
A good repsonse would be no response. A better response is to call it what it is: MABUSHI! - or whatever invective the situation calls for.
Here's an example of how to respond:
Prospect: "Symantec says, "Scary thing 1, scary thing 2 and scary thing 3."
McAfee rep: "Hogwash. McAfee is still the leader in (supportable statistic 1). Our <product> is still the (supportable statistic 2). Plus, (reputable analyst or publication) said that McAfee (product) was better than Symantec. Now let's get back to the problem you're trying to solve."
McAfee's painting the side of their building has just two small benefits: some of their employees get a chuckle out of it when they come to work (more, I suspect, are embarrassed by it) and some painting contractors got a nice little extra job at the end of their busy season last Fall.
Key takeaway: FUD, and apologetic responses to it, is just more MABUSHI. Don't fall for it.
Next up: I'm NOT the lead gen guy!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Irrelevant, Unsupportable, Inane
Apparently I'm not the only one calling out MABUSHI these days. David Meerman Scott, of 'The New Rules of Marketing & PR' and Web Ink Now fame, eviscerated a company last week on their truly awful PR spam. More power to you, David!
Continuing on that theme, I am highlighting the MABUSHI of this company, who are posting it in 10-foot high letters on the side of their building.
The first commenter who can correctly identify this company will get a $5 Starbucks gift card.
What's worse, just underneath this bit is yet another tag line which does a really good job of describing what they do and for whom.
Let's break this MABUSHI down into its component parts:
Focused: On what? How do I know they are focused on the right thing?
Unwavering: Does that mean they won't listen to customers? Does that mean they won't change course even in light of overwhelming facts to the contrary?
Dedicated: To what? Are they so focused, unwavering and dedicated to their business model that they will fail to pick up on significant changes in the industry or new market opportunities?
And then looking at this from the big picture: What does ANY of this have to do with telling someone about the value of their company or why anyone would care? I strongly suspect that no one bothered talking to customers, prospects and other industry wags to develop this statement. It reads more like something executive management put together to boost morale.
The following blogs aren't companies, per se, but their tag lines all do a beautifully effective job in quickly conveying their value and relevance to the reader:
Web Ink Now: Marketing and Leadership Strategies
Rocket Watcher: Product Marketing for Startups
Scoutmaster Musings: there's no tag line, just the name conveys everything it needs to convey.
Simple, clear and relevant.
That's how it should be done. Yes, it is hard. No, it's not impossible. Look at the core value of what your company does and just say it as simply as you can. Please.
Next up: This offender revealed.
Continuing on that theme, I am highlighting the MABUSHI of this company, who are posting it in 10-foot high letters on the side of their building.
The first commenter who can correctly identify this company will get a $5 Starbucks gift card.
Let's break this MABUSHI down into its component parts:
Focused: On what? How do I know they are focused on the right thing?
Unwavering: Does that mean they won't listen to customers? Does that mean they won't change course even in light of overwhelming facts to the contrary?
Dedicated: To what? Are they so focused, unwavering and dedicated to their business model that they will fail to pick up on significant changes in the industry or new market opportunities?
And then looking at this from the big picture: What does ANY of this have to do with telling someone about the value of their company or why anyone would care? I strongly suspect that no one bothered talking to customers, prospects and other industry wags to develop this statement. It reads more like something executive management put together to boost morale.
The following blogs aren't companies, per se, but their tag lines all do a beautifully effective job in quickly conveying their value and relevance to the reader:
Web Ink Now: Marketing and Leadership Strategies
Rocket Watcher: Product Marketing for Startups
Scoutmaster Musings: there's no tag line, just the name conveys everything it needs to convey.
Simple, clear and relevant.
That's how it should be done. Yes, it is hard. No, it's not impossible. Look at the core value of what your company does and just say it as simply as you can. Please.
Next up: This offender revealed.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Leading Providers of MABUSHI
Full Disclosure: Head colds make me grumpy and I haven't completely shaken the one I got on Thanksgiving Day so this post is a rant of things to avoid rather than a helpful how-to discussion. And, no, The Cranky Product Manager did not write this post.
I was looking at the exhibitor list for the recent Enterprise 2.0 conference in Santa Clara and discovered a veritable goldmine of MABUSHI. I read each company's description of themselves and was amazed at how many "leading providers" of the same thing there are. I was also gobsmacked at how many other descriptions were so unintelligible that I had no idea what they did.
Here are just a few examples of how companies described themselves, along with my snarky response:
- the leading provider of purpose-built innovation software connecting employees, customers and business partners for idea management and innovation discovery.
- Did they use a gobbledygook generator to write this?
- a global leader in Business Execution Software.
- Why would I want to execute a business?
- the leader in enterprise-class, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for managing global businesses, combining the lower cost of SaaS with a modern approach to applications.
- Try reading this one out loud - remember to breathe
- the leading European provider of Enterprise Social Software.
- But I'm not European
- gives your workforce a simple way share ideas and issues and seek feedback from the most qualified people in your organization
- Isn't that called 'listening'?
- leads the Social BI market, bridging the gap between traditional business intelligence and enterprise social network applications.
- I didn't know businesses were intelligent
- the leading provider of social software, services, and analytics that improve business performance.
- Didn't I just read that somewhere else?
- the leading provider of Enterprise Activity Stream software.
- Doesn't anyone follow?
- a new mode of online communication.
- First it was email, then IM, then blogging, then Twitter, I can't keep up with all these newfangled modes of online communication.
- is an interactive design and solution integration firm delivering innovative solutions in the areas of Web-Based, Enterprise wide collaboration and Social Computing.
- You left out 'leading provider.'
- provides the most comprehensive Social Media Platform (SMP) designed to help organizations socially enable their traditional business functions while enhancing their users experience online.
- Huh?
I'm not making this stuff up. All these phrases were cut and pasted directly from the Enterprise 2.0 web site.
What's wrong with these people? Go back to my post on Self-Selection or my post on MABUSHI testing. Read (and take on board) ANYTHING that April Dunford has written,especially the first 20 minutes of this presentation on marketing. Download the Pragmatic Marketing Effective Product Marketing materials and go through the exercises. Something, anything that shows you understand what you do, who your customers are, why they should care. Then write it in ONE SENTENCE and use language that real humans can understand.
Just to show I'm not a complete grinch, one company, TriNet got it right. Hit it out of the park, actually. Here's their self-description:
- TriNet helps you, the small business entrepreneur, realize your ambitions by being your essential HR partner.
Clean. Short. To the point. Describes exactly what they do, for whom and why. A thing of beauty.
Congratulations to TriNet for understanding how to talk to their customers and not talk about themselves!
Next time: More Grumpiness - in 10-foot letters.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Self-Selection
As this is a short week in the US, this will be a short post.
Self-selection - helping prospects easily select into your lead process - is a great way to improve funnel efficiency and sales velocity. A good way to do this on your web site is to be right up front. Put your segments right there for people to click on as soon as they come to your page organically. Don't make them work for it. (they won't) Nothing frustrates me more, or makes me bounce off a site faster, than having to figure out if the product or solution relates to me.
ServiceMax has a site that does a good job of helping you self-select. (Full disclosure: I don't know ServiceMax from Adam, I just found their site one day and liked how it's organized) Their catch phrase makes it obvious that if you aren't about field services, this company is not for you. The Solutions option right in the middle is the perfect next step. You click on your industry to learn more how this can help you and your particular problems. VERY easy to figure out and click to the next step. The segments are also unambiguous. There's no possibility that a Residential Services prospect will accidentally go to the Life Sciences Manufacturing section.
Contrast that with McAfee. They are okay on helping you self-select based on company size, but after that, you are on your own. Clicking on the Products link for each segment gives you a withering array (all different) of products to choose. Company size may be how McAfee segments its sales channels but is a poor way to segment its web site. A prospect has to know what they are looking for BEFORE they hit the site in order to find a solution. Segmenting the site by job function or problem-being-experienced would be two options to help prospects navigate quicker.
You still need resonant, well-written messages once your prospects reach the right part of your web site but your prospects will be more likely to stick around if you let them quickly find what they need.
This also translates directly for your sales team, too. If they understand the segments, they will spend less time finding prospects and less time talking to non-prospects.
Key take-away: Make it easy for your customer segments to figure out if your stuff is for them - on your web site and in all your marketing materials.
Next up: PLEASE put some rational thought into your company descriptions!
Self-selection - helping prospects easily select into your lead process - is a great way to improve funnel efficiency and sales velocity. A good way to do this on your web site is to be right up front. Put your segments right there for people to click on as soon as they come to your page organically. Don't make them work for it. (they won't) Nothing frustrates me more, or makes me bounce off a site faster, than having to figure out if the product or solution relates to me.
ServiceMax has a site that does a good job of helping you self-select. (Full disclosure: I don't know ServiceMax from Adam, I just found their site one day and liked how it's organized) Their catch phrase makes it obvious that if you aren't about field services, this company is not for you. The Solutions option right in the middle is the perfect next step. You click on your industry to learn more how this can help you and your particular problems. VERY easy to figure out and click to the next step. The segments are also unambiguous. There's no possibility that a Residential Services prospect will accidentally go to the Life Sciences Manufacturing section.
Contrast that with McAfee. They are okay on helping you self-select based on company size, but after that, you are on your own. Clicking on the Products link for each segment gives you a withering array (all different) of products to choose. Company size may be how McAfee segments its sales channels but is a poor way to segment its web site. A prospect has to know what they are looking for BEFORE they hit the site in order to find a solution. Segmenting the site by job function or problem-being-experienced would be two options to help prospects navigate quicker.
You still need resonant, well-written messages once your prospects reach the right part of your web site but your prospects will be more likely to stick around if you let them quickly find what they need.
This also translates directly for your sales team, too. If they understand the segments, they will spend less time finding prospects and less time talking to non-prospects.
Key take-away: Make it easy for your customer segments to figure out if your stuff is for them - on your web site and in all your marketing materials.
Next up: PLEASE put some rational thought into your company descriptions!
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